“We cannot avoid facts that two countries in Europe – Georgia and Ukraine — are occupied by Russia and with military intrusion, the territorial integrity and sovereignty are violated after World War II. NATO should resolve this and respond to it with strengthening – said Alec Edward Shelbrooke, British politician from Conservative Party and a member of the UK delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“This is a model that we see in east Europe and if we show weakness, Russia will make use of it. That is why the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the activity dedicated to the 70th anniversary of NATO is important as never. We should learn from these lessons. It is very important, otherwise Russia will attempt to cross the lines again,” Shelbrooke said.

The member of the UK delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has stressed on the importance of the perspective of Georgia’s integration into the alliance.

“It is important that the country such as Georgia tries to become a NATO member. Membership is not merely being a member of the organization. This means joint principles and military capacities, training, and approximation to common standards that will give the countries better defense capabilities. I visited Tbilisi in 2016 and saw the society directed toward democratic values. We have to demonstrate what everybody expects – that NATO stands next to the democratic countries,” Shelbrooke said.

The 65th Plenary Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) is underway in London.  The Georgian delegation is taking part in the sitting of NATO PA’s Political Committee, which is discussing one of the resolutions about Georgia.

The NATO PA consists of 266 delegates from the 29 NATO member countries and delegates from 12 associate countries. NATO PA serves as the consultative interparliamentary organization for the North Atlantic Alliance.